Ohio gubernatorial candidate Casey Putsch speaks with supporters during a campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, Thursday, April 9, 2026. He is far behind in the polls, but Putsch is part of a national message of economic populism and promoting “right to repair” legislation.
Sue Ogrocki | P.A.
It used to be that if your iPhone or Galaxy was damaged, you were at the mercy of Apple or Samsung to repair it, as manufacturers flooded their customers with a storm of proprietary parts and inaccessible diagnostic software. But this pain hasn’t been limited to smartphones, and a challenging legal movement that controls diagnostic and reprogramming tools for everything from phones to automobiles, dishwashers and farm equipment — which consumers say have become increasingly difficult to repair inexpensively — continues to gain political traction across the country.
The right to repair movement has accomplished something that seemed impossible: bringing Republicans and Democrats together, with the movement succeeding thanks to a wave of state laws passed in recent years and a renewed push in the U.S. House and Senate.
Since electronic right-to-repair legislation was passed in New York State in 2022, the tide has turned. California, Colorado, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Oregon have all adopted comprehensive right to repair regulations. Washington last joined them in May 2025. Since that year, advocates are tracking 57 right-to-repair bills in 22 states. In Maine, the state Senate just introduced a bill that would grant the right to repair electronics in the state. Texas’ new Right to Repair law takes effect September 1 and covers phones, laptops and tablets, but excludes medical and agricultural equipment and game consoles.
And in Ohio, polls indicate that fringe GOP candidate Casey Putsch may have no shooting against establishment candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in the gubernatorial primary, but its platform includes populist ideas and economic views that exploit American unease with the economy and affordability, including its embrace of right-to-repair legislation. A new CNBC poll shows President Trump getting his lowest marks on the economy of his presidency.
“A forgotten feature of the American dream is being able to build, create and fix your own things,” said Putsch, an auto enthusiast and builder, who on other issues runs to the right of Ramaswamy.
While Oregon’s 2024 law was notably the first to restrict “parts matching” — the practice of requiring replacement components to be fitted to devices using proprietary software from the manufacturer — New York’s was the first in the nation, and the bill “had tremendous bipartisan appeal,” said Patricia Fahy, a New York state senator who sponsored the landmark legislation.
In New York, Fahy’s objective turned out to be surgical: allowing people to have their smartphones repaired. “There’s been an increase in independent repair shops and that’s making things more affordable. Screen repairs used to cost $250 if you didn’t have insurance,” Fahy said. The average family savings is estimated at $400 per year on electronics and smartphones. “And early estimates indicate that repair shops would hire 15 percent more workers,” Fahy added.
But the original New York bill was much more expensive. “We had to get rid of our own legislation. We were immediately faced with the circular saw from John Deere and Caterpillar,” Fahy said, “so we removed the big equipment and we’ll fight that another day.” Medical equipment and household appliances were also deleted. But Fahy introduced a bill that would extend the right to repair to wheelchairs.
State Senator Patricia Fahy on January 28, 2026, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, New York. “We need national legislation, it’s a bipartisan issue,” Fahy told CNBC of the right to repair legislation, which she helped pass in New York in 2022.
Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers | Hearst Newspapers | Getty Images
Tech companies remain divided on their lobbying. Apple initially opposed the right to repair legislation, but he has softened his position in recent yearswhile Samsung continues to draw criticism for its difficult repair options.
For his part, Deere says that it is not anti-right to repair. “We want farmers to be able to repair their equipment. In fact, our industry depends on it,” said Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support. Farmers already have access to repair tools, information and diagnostics through national agreements with the American Farm Bureau Federation, Caldwell said, “without creating a patchwork of state-by-state mandates.”
Deere also claims that existing frameworks agreed to before the 2022 New York law include a process for updating repair capabilities as technology evolves, while New York’s legal requirements for paper manuals and offline processes, as well as free or “paid” access to technology, are at odds with investments made by the industry. The investments needed for real-time diagnostics, updates and accurate repairs won’t continue with laws like New York’s, Caldwell said.
Deere’s repair options remain a contentious issue in farm states and nationally. THE
